Gurman: Apple AirPods with built-in camera may arrive in late 2027

Back in May, a report claimed that Apple had entered the final stages of development for its camera-equipped AirPods. Now, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has shared a revised launch timeline for the earbuds, along with a few additional details.

According to Gurman, citing people familiar with the matter, the AirPods with built-in cameras are now expected to debut in late 2027. The earbuds will reportedly launch alongside Apple's second-generation foldable iPhone and the special 20th anniversary iPhone.

In the earlier report, Gurman noted that Apple could delay the so-called "AirPods Ultra" if it wasn't satisfied with the AI experience. At the time, the camera-equipped earbuds were expected to launch this year.

Gurman also reports that the upcoming AirPods will feature external indicator lights on the stems to notify people nearby whenever data is being sent to the cloud.

The built-in cameras are said to help Siri AI to better understand the user's surroundings and deliver more context-aware responses. Apple is calling this Visual Intelligence. According to the report, Apple is also exploring features such as “contextual reminders and turn-by-turn walking directions” powered by the cameras.

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